Misleading Research Links Vitamin Supplements to Cancer

Reported November 27, 2009

A recent study linking folic acid and vitamin B12 supplements with higher risks of cancer is misleading, claim two trade associations representing dietary supplement manufacturers and ingredient suppliers.

The research, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), revealed that heart patients in Norway, where foods are not fortified with folic acid, were more likely to die from cancer if they took folic acid and vitamin B12 supplements than those who did not take them.

But the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) and the Health Food Manufacturers' Association (HFMA) claim that the research reveals the dangers of smoking, not of taking folic acid and vitamin B12 supplements.

Andrew Shao, CRN’s vice president, scientific and regulatory affairs, said: “The real headline of this study should be that smoking increases the risk of lung cancer. The study found that a total of 94 per cent of the subjects who developed lung cancer were either current or former smokers. Most health experts would agree that the number one way to prevent lung cancer is to abstain from smoking.”

The results are inconsistent with the larger body of data and any link between folic acid and vitamin B12 supplements has not been observed previously, he added.